I want to point out that two of them are for Angry Birds.
My Mom is obsessed with Angry Birds. It's really cute, actually. She has an obsessive need for three starts on all the levels of all the games. I'm sort of like it with Cut The Rope. We're a pretty strange little family.
Anyways! Onto this discussion of viral marketing. I have to say I sort of agree with their list, in that I saw the top few or so and then it kind of dwindles because I don't watch a lot of youtube and only a few of those were actual commercials as well, like the M&Ms one. So I ask this, what is this new obsession with viral marketing? How did we go from a world of television and billboards to one where a youtube ad has more success than a prime TV spot? The Superbowl is, perhaps, the main exception to this, but overall.
I saw Kony because I was confused, I saw the space one because I watched it, I saw the two Angry Birds one from my mom, I think the Galaxy S one was on tv? Or it was an ad before a video I was watching on youtube, and then the m&m ones are the only ones I've seen.
I missed the jump because if I spent a lot of time on youtube watching these things, I would spend literally all my time watching these things.
My number one answer is that we have become a nation of procrastinators. I myself am one, and I can't go a day without hearing one of those 'clever' things like 'Procrastinators Unite! ..Tomorrow.' Which people need to stop saying because it's become very unoriginal.
But we have a problem. I know, aside from procrastinating?! You ask. I say yes. We don't just procrastinate, but we don't do ANYTHING while we procrastinate. Well, I don't feel like socializing with friends or eating food and everything on TV sucks except for Big Bang Theory/Jersey Shore/Whatever it is you rot your brain with, which isn't on right now. But I don't want to do my HUGE paper that's due tomorrow and worth 90% of my grade and has been assigned all semester. So I think I'll just go click popular things on youtube for a few hours.
A few HOURS?! WHAT?! The longest I spent on youtube once was one hour, where I proceeded to watch about thirty Jenna Marbles videos. I have an attention disorder, I can't even focus on being distracted for more than an hour.
I feel like as a marketing major, I should be THRILLED by this. So long as I can create a video and push it so hard or make at least one opinion leader laugh, suddenly I've made it. Instead, I'm just a little freaked out by how big viral marketing has gotten. Will it make my future job easier? Maybe. Does it mean there are kids out there with cumulative finals tomorrow that they haven't studied a lick for and instead they're busy laughing about a brown M&M? Sadly, yes.
As excited as I am, and as much as I enjoy watching the occasional viral marketing, I'm concerned with how often one person will watch each of these singular advertisements. How many times have you seen the angry birds commercials? For me, it's once each. That's all I need to see it too, thanks.
Viral marketing. Very exciting, very interesting, very scary, and a little concerning.
Until next time!
-MG
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